Rolling frame for rolling mill of the step-back type



.H. STINNERTZ ROLLING FRAME FOR ROLLING MILL OF THE STEP-BACK TYPE Filed March 21. 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 15, 1970 H. STINNERTZ 3,546,912

ROLLING FRAME FOR ROLLING MILL OF THE STEP-BACK TYPE Filed March 23,, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States atent O 3,546,912 ROLLING FRAME FOR ROLLING MILL OF THE STEP-BACK TYPE Horst Stinnertz, Monchen-Gladhach, Germany, assignor,

by mesne assignments, to the McKay Machine Company, Youngstown, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Mar. 21, 1968, Ser. No. 714,972 Claims priority, application Germany, Mar. 30, 1967, M 5 ,374 Int. Cl. B211) 31/12 US. Cl. 72-238 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A reciprocable rolling frame for a cold rolling pilger mill has two U-shaped roll housings, each open on top though closed by a removable traverse that rests in hous- 1ng grooves.

The invention relates to rolling frames for cold rolling mills of the step-back or pilger type, and relates more particularly to such rolling frames in connection with which annular roll collars are used.

Rolling frames for pilger cold rolling mills of conventionl construction have roll bodies of semicircular section, which are removably connected with the roll axle. When it is necessary to exchange the rolls, either because a roll of a different dimension is needed, or the roll previously used must be interchanged due to wear, the operator will remove the roll body from the roll axle, and remove the roll body without need to remove the roll axle from the rolling frame. The exchange of the roll bodies can be accomplished in a relatively short time.

The recent trend in this field has, however, been to utilize, at least to a certain extent, annular roll collars, rather than the aforementioned roll bodies. The collars have the advantage that for the working of the roll pass there is available the entire circumference of the roll, and is no longer restricted to only one-half of the roll. The mounting of the collar onto the roll axle may be accomplished by shrinking. The axle and the shrunk collar form a unit that cannot be separated for interchanging of the roll either due to the need for a different diameter or due to wear. During such interchange therefore the entire aggregate, namely the roll axle with the collar and the necessary installation pieces must be removed in its entirety and be exchanged against a new aggregate of this type which has been prepared in advance in the shop.

To remove such complete aggregates, two different methods have become known in the general rolling mill technique; these are:

(a) Either the entire aggregate is moved laterally, that means in the direction of the axis of the rolling axle through the window of the rolling frame; or

(b) The aggregates are removed upwardly, necessitating an opening up of the frames on top.

The first of these methods, namely the lateral removal, is not well suited for cold rolling pilger mill rolling frames, as these frames, in contrast to the conventional stationary rolling frames, are reciprocably movable and due to the stationary racks for the reciprocal drive are not readily accessible from the side.

The instant invention therefore utilizes the second of the foregoing methods, namely to remove the aggregate upwardly, and providing for a rolling frame that is open on top.

Rolling frames of the stationary type have in the past been constructed with an open top through which the rolling aggregate could be removed; they have been built in the form of a U-shape with an open top, and have been provided during operation with a removable or tiltable lid for closing the open top.

This construction, though suitable for stationary rolling frames, has for the reciprocating cold rolling pilger mill frames the disadvantage or a relatively heavy weight, as the screws and bolts for the removable or tiltable lid take up the entire rolling pressure and hence are constructed with the necessary large dimensions. Even the lid itself is relatively heavy, and usually cannot be removed or even tilted without the aid of a crane; this, in turn, increases the time required for exchanging rolls. For reciprocating rolling frames for pilger mills, on the other hand, the weight should be kept small, so that the drive load for the reciprocating movement of the rolling frame can be kept small.

It is accordingly among the principal objects of the invention to provide a rolling frame for a cold rolling pilger mill that avoids the drawbacks of the prior art, and yet reliably permits a quick and simple removal of the roll aggregate from the rolling frame and an insertion of the new rolling aggregate.

It is another object of the invention to provide a rolling frame of this type that permits upward removal of the rolling aggregate off the rolling frame, and yet keeps the weight of the rolling frame relatively low, thereby reducing the reciprocating drive load.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in-the following specification and n part will be obvious therefrom Without being specifically referred to, the same being realized and attained as pointed out in the claims hereof.

With the above and other objects of the invention in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and combination of various devices, elements and parts, as set forth in the claims hereof, one embodiment of the same being illustrated in the accompanylng drawings and described in the specification.

Broadly speaking, the aforementioned drawbacks of the U-shaped rolling frames of the prior art are eliminated in accordance with the invention by substituting for the heavy and unwieldy lid a movable traverse. The traverses render unnecessary the bolts and screws of the rolling frames of the prior art, which bOlts as previously pointed out had been dimensioned to take up the rolling pressure; furthermore, the traverse has small dimensions and hence is so light that in most cases it can be moved by hand, thereby reducing the overall time required for an interchange of roll passes.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a rolling frame for a cold rolling pilger mill in accordance with the instant invention showing the traverse in place and the tiltable threaded bolt in active traverselocking position in solid lines; and, respectively, showing the bolt in traverse-releasing position in broken lines; and

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary extended front elevational view thereof, partly in section.

In carrying the invention into effect in one of the embodiments which has been selected for illustration in the accompanying drawings and for description in this specification, there is provided a rolling frame that includes two U-shaped roll housing 1. Each roll housing 1 includes two upright legs 1.1, 1.2 (FIG. 1) that are spaced apart near the top and define a passage permitting the removal of the roll aggregate. A removable traverse 2 bridges the open top and has end portions 2.2 each closely fitting within respective grooves 2.3 formed in respective housing legs 1.1, 1.2.

A tiltable, threaded bolt 3 is pivoted to the upper part of respective housing legs 1.2 and may be moved between the active station shown in solid lines in FIG. 1 and the inactive station shOWn in phantom lines therein. In the active station, each bolt 3 is disposed in an upwardly facing slot 3.1 at the top of a respective housing leg 1.1 and a nut 4 on each bolt, through an underlying washer 4.1, is seated against a respective housing leg 1.1. With a bolt 3 suitably tensioned by rotation of its nut 4, the upper ends of the associated housing legs will be held against separation. Moreover, when each bolt 3 is in its active station, an intermediate portion thereof will be seated within a tapered, upwardly facing groove 2.3 (FIG. 3) formed in its traverse 2 to retain the latter assembled with its housing legs.

The roll aggregate includes the two roll axles 5, the collars 6 and the installation pieces 7 for the journalling of the axles in the housings 1.

The operation for the disassembly is as follows: After the nuts 4 have been loosened on the thread of the bolts 3, the bolts 3 are moved from the active station in solid lines in FIG. 1 to the inactive station shown in brOken lines in FIG. 1. Thereafter, the traverses 2 are removed laterally by sliding them laterally out of the grooves, as indicated in FIG. 2 by the arrows 8; lastly, the roll aggregates which include the axles 5, the collars 6 and the installation pieces 7, are removed upwardly, as indicated by the arrow 9 in FIG. 2.

The new roll aggregates thereafter are put into the housings 1, and the operation is proceeded with, in reverse order.

Certain of the advantages of the invention have already been referred to herein. It may be useful, however, to allude particularly at this point to the low weight of the parts that close the open top of the housing 1, namely the traverses 2 and the small diameter bolts 3; this, in turn, does not only facilitate and accelerate the exchange of roll aggregates, but also reduces the overall weight of the rolling frames and correspondingly reduces the drive load for the reciprocating movement of the rolling frame.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, for obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to be secured by Letters Patent is as follows:

1. In a rolling mill, the combination of a pair of laterally spaced housing portions, each having a pair of legs defining therebetween an outwardly directed opening, said pairs of legs being similarly disposed so that said openings are in alignment, a roll assembly crosswise of said housing portions and with spaced bearings di'sposed within respective openings, said roll assembly being movable outwardly of said openings by movement thereof in a direction transverse to its axis, a bridge member across each of said pair of legs in position so that a portion thereof is directed inwardly of a respective opening to bear against a respective roll assembly bearing and thereby maintain the roll assembly in operative position within said housing portions, each bridge member having opposite ends removably connected to respective pair of legs, and a tension member spanning each pair of legs outwardly of a respective bridge member and arranged to restrict separation of said legs and to maintain the connection of opposite ends of a respective bridge member with respective legs.

2. In a rolling mill, the combination of a pair of laterally spaced housing portions, each having a pair of legs defining therebetween an outwardly directed opening, said pairs of legs being similarly disposed so that said openings are in alignment, a roll assembly crosswise of said housing portions and with spaced bearings disposed within respective openings, said roll assembly being movable outwardly of said spaced openings by movement in a direction transverse to its axis, a bridge member across each of said pair of legs in position so that a portion thereof is directed inwardly of a respective opening to bear against a respective roll assembly bearing and thereby maintain the roll assembly in operative position within said housing portions, each bridge member having its opposite ends fitting within recesses in respective pair of legs, and a tension member spanning each pair of legs outwardly of a respective bridge member and arranged to restrict separation of said legs and thereby prevent removal of said opposite ends of said bridge member from the leg recesses.

3. The construction according to claim 2 wherein each bridge member is assembleable and disassembleable with respective leg recesses solely by movement in a direction parallel to the axis of said roll assembly.

4. The construction according to claim 2 wherein each tension member has one end pivoted to one housing portion and its other end fitting within an open slot in the other housig portion whereby said tension member may be swung about said pivot to and from operative position, and wherein the other end of said tension member is threaded and receives a nut which when threaded in predetermined manner forcibly bears against an outer surface of said other housing portion adjacent said open slot.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 355,390 1/1887 Daniels 72-238 742,905 11/1903 Richter 308-24 1,980,186 11/1934 Coe 72208 2,571,873 10/1951 Hegenbarth 30824 3,211,027 10/1965 Krause 72208 3,308,643 3/1967 Fahrenholz, et al. 72199 CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner B. J. MUSTAIKIS, Assistant Examiner 

